Atlanta Hawks: Exploring Historically Good Start for Trae Young
By Chris Guest
Though a small sample size bias is certainly taken into account here (since Trae Young has only played a total of 9 games so far in his young career) the early returns are rather striking for the Atlanta Hawks point guard.
Currently, Trae Young is the only rookie in NBA history to attempt 6 threes a game while also logging at least 7.5 assists per game. Great stuff from the rook! Though Ice Trae is only shooting 32.1% from distance, that number can be expected to rise as he gets his sea legs at the highest levels of NBA competition.
Beyond that, Trae Young is one of only 7 rookies to attempt 5 free throws per game while also dishing out 7.5 assists, joining luminaries such as John Wall and Isiah Thomas in that category. Young’s ability to draw fouls in crucial moments of games have netted the Atlanta Hawks some free points early in the season, and his 75 percent shooting clip from the charity stripe can also be expected to improve.
Trae’s passing frequency also has him in exclusive company. Young is one of 6 players to record a total of 70 assists or more with a higher than 40 percent assist rate. The two most recent players to do that were Ramon Sessions for the Bucks in 2007-08 and Sergio Rodriguez in 2006-07 for the Blazers. Neither of those two guards, however, had the same offensive burden that Young has for the Atlanta Hawks.
Finally, when Trae Young notched a career-best game against the Miami Heat on Saturday, he joined an elite group of players by producing the following stat line: 24 points, 15 assists, 6 rebounds, 5 free throw attempts, 8 three-point attempts and 47 percent shooting from the field.
One of only 10 such games in NBA history, according to NBA.com, Young joined LeBron James, James Harden, Brandon Knight, Baron Davis and Tim Hardaway as the only other five players to produce such an exquisite blend of shooting volume, scoring efficiency and all-around production. Great stuff from our rook.